iPhone 11

Apple is expected to release the iPhone 11 (or iPhone XI) in the fall of 2019. While there has no official news from Apple, the rumor mill is already starting to give us a picture of what we should expect from the newest smartphone from Apple.

iPhone 11 Release Date

If it follows past trends, Apple’s next phone will be released in the fall of 2019. Apple is likely to announce it along with the Apple Watch Series 5 at an event in September. The general rule is that the newest phone will go on sale around two weeks after the release date. Preorders will like start the Friday after the announcement. The iPhone Upgrade Program is a popular and affordable way to make sure you have the latest phone every year.

iPhone 11 Price

We don’t know the official price of the next iPhone yet, but it’s likely to be similar to what we saw with the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. Pricing will likely start at $999 and go up for additional storage or for the larger screen. We expect storage to start at 64GB with additional options for 256GB and 512GB. We do not expect Apple to offer a 1TB option this year.

If Apple offers a low cost iPhone this year (similar to the XR), it’ll likely start at $749 and go up in price for additional storage.

iPhone 11 Features

As expected, iPhone 11 will ship with iOS 13. iOS 13 is expected to be announced at WWDC 2019. Earlier rumors suggest Apple will ship two new iPhone models with 6.1-inch and 6.5-inch OLED displays. There are also rumors that it will ship with a triple camera system.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple’s flagship 2019 lineup will feature three models, including 2 OLED and 1 LCD variant. The high-end ‘iPhone 11’ (iPhone 11 Max?) will feature a triple rear camera system. The successor to the iPhone XR, with LCD screen panel, will be upgraded from a single rear lens to a dual-camera system.

The triple camera system is visualised in this render from last weekend, which is meant to be based on iPhone 11 prototypes. The Journal’s story today corroborates that previous leak.

The Wall Street Journal says that new camera features will be a significant part of the 2019 flagship iPhones. We are colloquially referring to it as the ‘iPhone 11’ for simplicity, but final marketing names is not being reported on and won’t be known until much closer to September.

However, on the surface, it seems like the 5.8-inch iPhone 11 will not be receiving compelling camera changes as it will be sticking to the dual-camera system. The three-camera module appears to be reserved for the largest, most expensive, phone.

Mark Gurman from Bloomberg is also reporting that the new iPhones will have a triple camera system.

The third camera on the high-end models will have an ultra-wide-angle lens to produce larger and more detailed photos. It will also enable a broader range of zoom. Apple is also working on an auto-correction feature to fit people back into a photo who may have been accidentally cut out. The second camera on the new XR model will have increased zoom as well.

Finally, it’s rumored that the 2019 iPhone will ship with a similar feature to Samsung’s Powershare where it can wirelessly charge an Apple Watch or AirPods.

Macotakara speculates that the new AirPods Wireless Charging Case may also be compatible with the wireless charging feature on the iPhone 11. The idea is that the iPhone battery is large enough to share power with an Apple Watch and AirPods case in a pinch without any cables involved.

Separately, Macotakara reports that the iPhone 11 will be bundled with a new charging cable, but it wont’ switch to USB-C for the charging port. Rather, the new report says that Apple may bundle the new 18W USB brick that ships with the iPad Pro and is now sold separately, relying on Apple’s Lightning to USB-C cable.

The camera system is a constant source of speculation as it is one of the main selling features of having the latest phone. In a recent report from Kuo, it’s speculated that the front facing camera (selfie camera) will go form 7 to 12 megapixels.

The front-camera improvements go beyond an increase in megapixels from 7 to 12. The camera will also change from the existing 4-element lens to a 5-element lens component. The new front camera will be included on all three new 2019 iPhones, including the ‘XR 2’ or whatever that model is called.

We expect screen sizes to remain the same for the 2019 phones, but it’s rumored to be changing in 2020.

According to Digitimes, Apple is laying the groundwork in the supply chain to launch three new iPhones in 2020 featuring OLED displays. The current flagship lineup offers OLED screens on iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, but the iPhone XR uses a lower-resolution LCD panel to save money.

This pattern is set to continue for the 2019 generation, but Apple will shake things up next year. The three 2020 iPhones will reportedly come in new screen sizes: 5.42-inch, 6.06-inch and 6.67-inch diagonally.

iPhone 11 Performance

9to5Mac’s Ben Lovejoy recently speculated about what we might see from the upcoming A13 chip.

Apple is sticking with a 7nm process, as 5nm won’t be ready in time, but EUV should allow about 20% more circuitry in the same area. Couple that to the larger chip size expected, says Cross, and you get something with the same kind of transistor count as the latest iPad Pro models.

Case manufacturers love to get prepared early for the next iPhone redesign, and this year they are getting the jump on the hump. The iPhone 11 will abandon the traffic-like vertical camera design seen in iPhone XS and instead adopt a triple-camera system with a new bump in a rounded-rectangle shape.

As first leaked by OnLeaks in January, the three cameras are arranged in a triangular pattern. The cameras, microphone, and flash are housed in a square protrusion about the size of an Apple Watch.

Update: In an interview with The WSJ, Intel’s Bob Swan says the Apple vs Qualcomm settlement led to Intel’s exit from the 5G market, not vice versa:

“In light of the announcement of Apple and Qualcomm, we assessed the prospects for us to make money while delivering this technology for smartphones and concluded at the time that we just didn’t see a path,” Mr. Swan said.

It’s been an eventful two weeks for the smartphone modem business. Apple and Qualcomm reached a surprise settlement and Intel subsequently left the 5G smartphone modem business. Now, Intel says that it still plans to supply 4G modems through this year – likely including the 2019 iPhones.